What is the best GPS?

[Guest foltz85]

What is the best GPS for Geocaching. I have a Garmin 12. It only shows distance in tenths and hundredths of a mile and not in feet. I feel its pretty good reception wise but I'm thinking of selling it and getting something better. What is the opinions of you experienced Geocachers? Thanks.

[Guest Pote]

Is geocaching the only thing you are going to use the GPS for? If you have other potential uses like car, boat, skiing, etc., please post up. I think you will get a more accurate answer. Also, what features are interesting to you - elec. compass, barometric altimeter, battery life, screen size, mapping. Finally how much money you got to spend????

 

Just asking 'which is best' is like asking the Ford or Chebby question. :^) Also, read down this board and the Units and Software board. Possibly, you answer has already been posted - or at least questions you never thought to ask have been.

[Guest foltz85]

at I can work. If your moving it will display the direction of travel but if your stopped, it's direction of travel is not accurrate. Also I was wanting something less than $200. Hope this helps. Thank you.

[Guest urbo]

i have a garmin 3, a magellan 3000, and a few of the laptop standalone types. the magellan is junk. i hate it! extremely slow aquisition time and a very "deaf" antenna. my garmin picks up in the house. the magellan has trouble with trees outdoors. as far as i'm concerned, its a wheel chock.

 

 

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"urbo"

robert ke4mcl

[Guest peter]

quote:

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Originally posted by foltz85:

On the GPS I have (a Garmin 12) it does not have a readout in feet. It also does not have a compass feature that I can work.

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I'd recommend sticking with your GPS12, but buying a simple mechanical compass. It's good to have anyway if the batteries or electronics in the GPS ever die, and it'll show you the right direction to go when you're moving too slowly for the GPS 'compass' to work. Although the 12 only reads to hundredths of miles, you can zoom in on the map page and see your position relative to the cache. By using the real compass to orient everything relative to magnetic north, the map page will let you move until your position and the cache position coincide.

The 12 should let you find geocaches about as easily as any other GPS rcvr, so I'd wait to buy a new one until you have other applications that need the fancier features - waiting will also result in better and cheaper units becoming available.

[Guest Pote]

Foltz, now we can get somewhere. The newer models of the Garmin handhelds display in feet after you get within 510 feet, I believe. Take a peek at the Garmin handheld family here. Maybe the Venture or Summit will do for your needs. I have the GPSMap76, which is a bit out of your price range, but I find the larger screen and some of the other features more to my needs as a boater/fisherman as well as cachers. The 76's and the II, IV and V have better antennae than the Extrex models, but you will be hard pressed to match the ease of use of the 12 with the 76's.

 

But back to your direct question - most all the newer Garmins will do feet. Here is a question I have that you may consider asking Garmin - will a software upgrade for the 12 give you a display in feet? It might be worth sending Garmin an email and asking. Then all you would need is a data cable - about $30.

 

Good luck w/ your decision.

[Guest Choberiba]

quote:

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Originally posted by Pote:

you may consider asking Garmin - will a software upgrade for the 12 give you a display in feet? It might be worth sending Garmin an email and asking. Then all you would need is a data cable - about $30.

Good luck w/ your decision.

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I have the standard eTrex, a Vista, and a Megellan Companion for my Palm.

 

The one thing that they all have in common is that when you get down to .01 miles or about fifty feet on the display, you're better off using the bearing and a compass than paying much attention to the GPS.

 

I say use what you have, adding a compass if needed. (even the geocaching.com keychain will work)

 

My only regret after buying all three units is that I didn't keep it simple. YMMV

[Guest JasonW]

Not helpful at all but......

 

The unit you want is the one that does what you want it to do, at a price you're willing to pay.

[Guest bunkerdave]

Ditto all others.

 

My experience has been that Mapping is extremely useful. It allows me to take just my GPS and my PDA, with all the cache listings in it, and have basically everything I need. Without mapping, you will need to carry road maps and such, which can get quite cumbersome. You will also have to spend considerable time figuring out where you are on all those maps. Also, I might suggest a GPS that supports NMEA, as most mapping software requires that in order to "talk" to a laptop. I use a laptop with TopoUSA 3.0 on my longer hunts, and my GPS, a Map330 (Magellan) works splendidly.

[Guest Irishmike3032]

I have a Lowrance Globemap 100. It has a built in maping program, and many other features. I spent a long time researching the right GPS unit to buy. I have two boats one salt water the other used in fresh. I hike extensively. I also climb. So when i looked into a GPS unit I wanted something that was light, waterproof, and rugged. The Globemap fit all the perameters that I sought. It is at the top end of what you wanted to pay, at $199. There is also a map create program specificaly designed for the unit that will cost you more, but isn't necesary for what you want to do with it. Check out whats out there you can usually try them out at boat stores or outdoor retailers. I hope this help, One thing to check for sure, most GPS units are not waterproof, resistent is another story, the 100 can be submerged for a brief period and survive.

[Guest Geoffrey]

ze and light weight.

It has a 3000 point tracklog memory. Even though it has a small screen, it has a setting for BIG FAT NUMBERS, so you can see it better while running hard or whatever.

 

The Vista is designed to fit in the left hand, because of the click stick(Which fits under the left thumb).

[Guest Jerrold21]

I have 3 Garmins, my first is the Garmin 48, second is a Garmin E-Map and I just got a Garmin Vista. I like the bigger screen on the E-Map and the removeable memory card. I really like the electronic compass on the Vista and the joystick. If they could make a E-Map with the Joystick and electronic compass that would be great. The Vista also as WAAS, which helps with the accuracy. At my work I use a Trimble system for setting points on military bombing range. I recently was in a hurry so I marked the points with my Vista, later I checked my points with my trimble system and they were all within two feet. JERRY

[Guest TresOkies]

I have the Garmin eMap and the Garmin StreetPilot III+ auto-nav system. Both units have the latest flash updates.

 

eMap

• Good all-around GPS for caching, navigation, mapping, measurement, etc. Two AA's last around 12 hours and a cigarette adapter is about $25. Also has a handy bike mount for about $10.
• Slow to acquire some times, even with new batteries and clear view of the sky (2-5 minutes).
• MetroGuide maps can be downloaded for any part of the US and have good detail out in the "sticks".
• Shows distance in feet until you get to 1/10 mile.

 

StreetPilot

• Pretty good auto-nav GPSR. Not a good choice for day-to-day caching but OK in a pinch. Chews through 6 AAs in about 3 hours so use it sparingly when away from the car adapter.
• Acquires satellites quickly (10-30 seconds).
• 32 MB data card gets most of Metro Texas and the lands between (DFW, Houston, SA, Austin) plus a little of Oklahoma. Not bad considering there is a lot of detail there. Once you get in the "sticks" the map detail is no better than the base map.
• CityNavigator maps are locked by region and the unlock code is a hash of your unit ID and some magic number. New region unlock codes are $129. Ack.
• Comes with a USB card programmer so I don't have to download 32MB of maps through serial. Works great on every PC I own except the one I want to use it on (crashes with log file). Garmin's tech support people were less than helpful.

So far, I have no qualms with my Garmin units. The eMap is rugged--it's been dropped a few times and doesn't complain. I'd buy another (and probably will). Actually, I'm Jones'ing for the Garmin/Palm unit when they ever get it done.

 

-E

 

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35°32.981 98°34.631

 

[This message has been edited by TresOkies (edited 05 October 2001).]